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Cloak and Dagger (Collected Editions) #1
Cloak & Dagger: Crime and Punishment
Created by the underworld - sworn to destroy it! Cloak and Dagger hit the streets to fight organized crime and super villainy! When they set their sights on the Kingpin, Spider-Man thinks they're going too far, but his webs can't rein them in! Plus: the Punisher's on the prowl, and it's a problem for everybody! Guest starring the Black Cat and the Spidey supporting players of yesteryear!
COLLECTING: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (1972) 64, 69-70, 81-82, 94-96; MARVEL TEAM-UP ANNUAL 6; MARVEL FANFARE (1982) 19
COLLECTING: PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (1972) 64, 69-70, 81-82, 94-96; MARVEL TEAM-UP ANNUAL 6; MARVEL FANFARE (1982) 19
252 pages, Hardcover
First published June 20, 2012
6 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Bill Mantlo
1,390 books44 followersWilliam Timothy Mantlo is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics.
(source: Wikipedia)
(source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 16, 2018
It seemed for a long time that Cloak and Dagger struggled to find a home or series of their own. They were primarily a Spider-man satellite team, appearing off and on in his various series. They finally began to get solo stories of their own in other mags. Nice collection of these beginning stories. Recommended
June 10, 2017
Cloak and Dagger are my favorite comic book characters. There were some good srories in this collection. I admit I am really looking forward to more currant stories with them but I appreciate the classics as well
October 24, 2023
Progress and diversity are two things on the tips of the tongues of comic fans everywhere these days. Judging by the hype in the comic press, this is something new and now. Sorry kids, but writers like Bill Mantlo and others were blazing the trail decades earlier. Unlike nowadays, there were no plugs from CNN or USA Today whenever something new or daring was attempted...something like, say, an interracial superhero couple. Bold ideas were presented to the story more organically and thus enjoyed greater acceptance than many of the progressive or diverse ideas today.
Cloak and Dagger were teenage runaways who were kidnapped and experimented on with synthetic drugs by the mob, who were trying to make new addictive drugs. Due to some anomaly in their body chemistry they were the only ones to survive...and somehow get super powers in the process. They take up a crusade against drug dealers everywhere. This was all very 1980s, Nancy Reagan “Just say no” for the comic book set.
Spider-Man is in every issue except for one, so this is kind of like a Spider-Man hardcover as well. Dagger's light steals Silvermane's life in #70, a plotline revisited and resolved in issues 94-96. Those three issues are all special to me, as I bought #94-96 off of the stands and read them countless times during the summer of 1984. The Punisher losing his sh*t in issues 81 and 82 is highly enjoyable as well.
This is as close to Cloak And Dagger Masterworks as we will ever get. Combine this with the other Premiere Classic hardcover which collects their original mini-series and you have their early run collected. It would be nice to see these two make the silver screen if only to get more 1980s material collected.
The late, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic line was a sort of junior Masterworks line, where material was presented in a high quality format but at a much lower MSRP than the Marvel Masterworks. The line reached well over 100 volumes but petered out because Marvel flooded the market with them.
Cloak and Dagger were teenage runaways who were kidnapped and experimented on with synthetic drugs by the mob, who were trying to make new addictive drugs. Due to some anomaly in their body chemistry they were the only ones to survive...and somehow get super powers in the process. They take up a crusade against drug dealers everywhere. This was all very 1980s, Nancy Reagan “Just say no” for the comic book set.
Spider-Man is in every issue except for one, so this is kind of like a Spider-Man hardcover as well. Dagger's light steals Silvermane's life in #70, a plotline revisited and resolved in issues 94-96. Those three issues are all special to me, as I bought #94-96 off of the stands and read them countless times during the summer of 1984. The Punisher losing his sh*t in issues 81 and 82 is highly enjoyable as well.
This is as close to Cloak And Dagger Masterworks as we will ever get. Combine this with the other Premiere Classic hardcover which collects their original mini-series and you have their early run collected. It would be nice to see these two make the silver screen if only to get more 1980s material collected.
The late, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic line was a sort of junior Masterworks line, where material was presented in a high quality format but at a much lower MSRP than the Marvel Masterworks. The line reached well over 100 volumes but petered out because Marvel flooded the market with them.
November 21, 2017
Some very standard Marvel stuff from the early 80s. I expected to like it more. But was never really much of a Spider-Man fan. The art is just OK without being fantastic until the last chapter, which is an issue of Marvel Fanfare. The stories don't do much, unless you enjoy battles with Kingpin and some long-forgotten villian by the name of Silvermane. He has a wrinkly old man head and a super-strong robot body. So he looks freaky, but isn't very interesting. Another stand-out issue is an annual with the New Mutants. I think I only liked it for the X-Men connection. I always wanted to read the old Cloak and Dagger stuff and I think that the comic series with art by Rick Leonardi will be a lot better. Will check that out some time as this is more of a set-up for the characters than a stand-out story.
December 12, 2021
This volume collects the earliest appearances of Cloak & Dagger outside of their limited series, mostly from Spider-Man's adjunct series Spectacular Spider-Man. (So it's really a Spidey book as much as a C&D one.) I bought almost all of these issues when they first came out as I liked the duo but re-reading them now they don't hold up for me. The writing and art for the most part is pretty low-grade, maybe okay for the youngest readers. The cyborg Silvermane plot in particular is silly and goes on too long. They should have just let him die the first time Dagger killed him. I also didn't like the way the Black Cat was being written at this time. What brings the book up a bit is their first appearance which is well-done, and the story that closes the book which is better and has really great art from a variety of contributors. If you're looking for an introduction to these fan-favorite characters I'd recommend Cloak and Dagger: Child of Darkness, Child of Light instead.
June 28, 2023
10/10:
I can’t get over just how incredible the introduction of both Cloak and Dagger is to the Marvel Comics universe! These collected issues may have heavy ties to Spider-Man, but very clearly, we see the duo of Cloak and Dagger become their own heroes. They may have questionable means and methods, but they intend to make the world a better and safer place for those around them, something they both wish had been done for them.
Of all of the first appearances I’ve ever read, the arrival of Cloak and Dagger might be the absolute coolest. Those two have always been favorites of mine, but they may find their way into my #1 Marvel duo slot soon enough. I can’t wait to read more collections featuring Cloak and Dagger!
I can’t get over just how incredible the introduction of both Cloak and Dagger is to the Marvel Comics universe! These collected issues may have heavy ties to Spider-Man, but very clearly, we see the duo of Cloak and Dagger become their own heroes. They may have questionable means and methods, but they intend to make the world a better and safer place for those around them, something they both wish had been done for them.
Of all of the first appearances I’ve ever read, the arrival of Cloak and Dagger might be the absolute coolest. Those two have always been favorites of mine, but they may find their way into my #1 Marvel duo slot soon enough. I can’t wait to read more collections featuring Cloak and Dagger!
December 15, 2025
I picked this up for Spider-Man but learning about cloak and dagger was cool. Honestly love their dynamic really makes me like cloak and dagger more .
June 25, 2016
While the origins of Cloak & Dagger was about as dark as you get for the eighties comics, they rarely fell into the dark pit of despair that they could have easily fallen into. Part of that was their early exploits were in the pages of the Spectacular Spider-Man comic. But also Bill Mantlo kept things moving so the noirish origins didn't overpower the characters.
On the other hand, the level of art when they appeared away from the pages of Spider-Man was often extremely evocative of those dark roots and some of those stories really delved into the darker recesses of the Marvel Universe.
The stories here are primarily from the early days and thus are heavily sampled from the pages of the Spectacular Spider-Man, but there's enough here to give a new reader a glimpse of that darker realm from which this symbiotic duo originated. This may not be the best example of Cloak & Dagger, but it covers their origin and does more than hint at their potential.
On the other hand, the level of art when they appeared away from the pages of Spider-Man was often extremely evocative of those dark roots and some of those stories really delved into the darker recesses of the Marvel Universe.
The stories here are primarily from the early days and thus are heavily sampled from the pages of the Spectacular Spider-Man, but there's enough here to give a new reader a glimpse of that darker realm from which this symbiotic duo originated. This may not be the best example of Cloak & Dagger, but it covers their origin and does more than hint at their potential.
August 9, 2014
This contains only the first instalments of a much larger series of some 30 classic stories written by Bill Mantlo. They are the weakest, not as good as what will follow after. However, I cannot help but say it: I ADORE this series! All those years spent reading the American comic book … everything from Stan Lee to Carl Barks to EC to Eisner to Miller to Gerber … and Bill Mantlo's Cloak and Dagger comes out on top?
Who'da thunk it?! In my youth, I never rated Mantlo highly. But age has given me insight and this is Mantlo at his very best. I say more about this astonishing comic book series here … http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2012/...
Who'da thunk it?! In my youth, I never rated Mantlo highly. But age has given me insight and this is Mantlo at his very best. I say more about this astonishing comic book series here … http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2012/...
September 21, 2012
Cloak and Dagger their early adventures with Spiderman. An Ok trip across memory lane with 2 minor super heroes in the Marvel Univrse. A fun read.
November 10, 2015
Cloak and Dagger are really fun but not very good heroes.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews